No Easy Way to Pass the Time
by rizzlekicks
Summary: When you're immortal, forever means something entirely different. Damon Salvatore explores his forever.   Alternate ending to the third seasons midseason finale and going on from there.
1. Chapter 1

**Quick Aside-** This is the first story that I'm publishing, it's still taking me a bit to get used to all of this. Unfortunately the first chapter is more background than anything particularly interesting, and it may take a few chapters until the preface is fully explained. Please read and review! I'm already about halfway through chapter three and would love to know what you think, things you may want incorporated. While most of the story is planned out in my head I anticipate it being a long one and would love feedback. Thank you!

**PREFACE**

He saw her from across the parking lot, exiting the double doors. It was her. Not a knock-off doppelgänger like Elena had been. Her face, her movement, her mannerisms. All the same. He rolled down his window and breathed in slowly. Cold winter air filled his head but something floated underneath it. That perfume, the one he knew so well, the one that could never be mistaken for anything else. Impossibly, it was her.

**SIX YEARS EARLIER**

"And is there another plan, in case this one fails?" Mikael questioned s everyone was getting ready to embark upon there various tasks.

"It's nearly impossible to come up with one plan to kill an original, where are we going to get another one." Retorted Damon in a manner that was not really a question and more of a statement.

Mikael fixed him with an intimidating stare before Elena chimed in.

"Mikael's right. There are too many variables. If we could come up with a back-up plan, some other way of eliminating Klaus that would be comforting."

There was a short pause as everyone wracked their brains for something that had not yet been suggested.

"I have more than one trick up my sleeve," said Mikael after a sufficient amount of time had passed and everyone seemed to be staring at him for the answers. "Although I suppose it's less of a trick and more someone I know that may be able to help. How up to date are you on your religious mythology?" he questioned the group. Some glances and a few shrugs were exchanged but no one spoke up.

"I'll take that as not very up to date" Mikael said, shifting the weight in his legs as if to signal the beginning of a story. "You're all familiar with the story of Luzbel?"

More silence.

"More commonly referred to by the name Lucifer…"

A few grunts of recognition and then Alaric spoke up, "You mean like the devil?"

Mikael smirked to himself at some joke the rest of them had failed to get.

"No. Not at all. Lucifer and the devil are two completely separate beings although I will inform you that that seems to be a common misconception. The two of them are quite different and she would not be pleased that yet another person has made the two of them interchangeable."

Before Mikael could go on Katherine interrupted "Excuse me, she?" She said with incredulity.

"Yes, she. And very little is known about her, or at least the people who have knowledge about her and other religious entities do not go parading it around or writing it down in books for anyone to read." There was a slight hint of condescension in Mikael's voice. "Forget any associations you have with the name Lucifer. All you need to know is this; Luzbel is the fallen archangel who was banished and bound to Earth. Rumor has it that she is incredibly powerful, although I have never witnessed any show of this myself. It's been said that she can kill and original… and is more accessible then say, Satan himself."

"So is she bad or good?" asked Damon.

"It is my understanding that it is not as black and white as that," said Mikael. "I cannot say. As I said, I know very little about her."

"And your plan entails what exactly? Marching up to her and asking her to kill Klaus?" The harshness in Damon's voice caused Elena to speak up.

"Damon it's a good option. She has no connection to us. She'll either say yes or no. It seems that every… person we turn to for help has some alternative agenda." She glanced over to Mikael trying to gauge his reaction to this but his expression remained unchanged.

Damon seemed to ignore her but his tone was softer when he asked "Well how do we get her to come here?"

"There is one fairly easy option but I'm afraid it won't get her here until it's too late… Someone will have to go find her, ask her and bring her back here."

"Well, no one's going alone to go do something like that. You've admitted it yourself you barely know anything about this… person," said Alaric.

"We can't afford to send two people. We're instituting Plan A tonight and we need as many people here as possible," said Elena, the worry about tonights plan flooding back to her.

Everyone sat still and quiet while their brains absorbed everything they had just heard.

"So you know her?" said Alaric in an attempt to clarify recent information.

"We've met occasionally. When you've been roaming the same Earth for over 1,000 years it's hard not to cross paths."

"So why don't you go?"

"Because your plan needs me not to mention I'm not about to hand over this stake for you to kill Klaus with."

"Okay so I'll go," said Damon.

Alaric and Elena looked at each other.

"What?" snapped Damon, looking back and forth between the both of them.

"Well, you're not exactly the master of gentle persuasion," said Elena. "If all else fails we're definitely going to need her."

"I'm the fastest, I'm the strongest and it's not like I can take someone with better conversational skills with me," he retorted.

"Actually," said Katherine from behind him. "I'm the fastest and I'm the strongest, but you're right. I can't exactly go with you if I'm supposed to swap for Elena now can I."

"All right then, so where do I find her?" said Damon.

Elena and Alaric looked uncomfortable but were starting to realize that he was their only option.

"I have a general idea of where she's living now, but beyond that you'll have to track her. It should be easy."

"We can't all be originals, how am I supposed to track someone I've never met?"

Mikael gave Damon a look of extreme patience.

"She has a very distinctive smell. It will be a simple spell for Bonnie to take the memory of it from my head and transfer it to yours."

One hour later, Damon, Mikael and Elena had arrived at Bonnie's house. After a sufficient amount of time convincing Bonnie that this would help to end everything, they were all set up to do the spell. Mikael and Damon were standing facing each other on the inside of a circle formed from deep purple candles. Bonnie began her ancient chant and within seconds Damon was surrounded by something so unlike anything he had ever smelled before. It was the most delicious perfume you ever had the pleasure of inhaling-sickeningly sweet and full of something beautiful you couldn't quite place, but with a bitter undertone that warned of danger, that told you to stay away. The minute the spell was over Damon longed to repeat it. It was delicious, intoxicating and he felt that his mind would never focus on anything else. Despite the dark undertones, something drew you towards it and attached tiny strings to your muscles, pulling at will.

Damon remained with his eyes closed until every last trace of the scent had faded from the air. All he needed was one hint of that scent and it would be impossible not to route it back to its source. Finding her would not be the problem, getting her to come back would be.


	2. Sound of Pulling Heaven Down

**CHAPTER TWO**

According to Mikael, and he himself had admitted that his information was at least 20 years old, Luzbel, who he had also said was now more commonly referred to as Elizabeth, was currently residing in Northern Canada. Damon considered himself lucky that at least she was on the continent and he would not be needing to get on a plane to hunt her down. He left almost immediately after Bonnie's spell and drove as fast as he could to the remote town of Taloyoak, Canada. Racing up to his destination he was only stopped three times by police and each time he compelled them to let him go without writeup. He reached the town by late afternoon. Taloyoak was the last town up north before the vast and ancient forests ruled the continent. She buried herself deep in the mountains but Mikael said once Damon got to town it would be easy to pick up on her scent. She stayed in the forest not primarily as a means of staying hidden but because it was where she enjoyed life the most. After miles of driving through empty mountain roads, Damon parked in a small but crowded restaurant parking lot in the center of town. It was one of the few times in his life that he was thankful to see other signs of life. He thought he could do for a little snack before he set out tracking Luzbel, Elizabeth or whatever it was now (really, pick one name and stay with it why don't you?) but just as he saw a lone person across the parking lot he picked up on her scent. It drifted faintly under the crisp mountain air but it was there, sweet and distinct.

He traced her across the street and down a ways to a small general purpose store. He got to the door but found that it would not open for him.

"Goddamn small towns, all these private owners keeping vamps out," he cursed to himself.

He looked through the store windows. It seemed a simple enough store. An older gentlemen with, what Damon assumed, had he understood the meaning of kindness, a kind face stood behind the old fashioned wooden counter. In an attempt to get a better view of the store he headed around back but ended up picking up her scent again in front of the side door. It was faint so in order not to lose it he didn't risk running at vampire speed. Eventually it led him down a long narrow road and into the driveway of a large white house. It was quite small, one story with an attached garage and the smell got stronger here. Assuming this was where she lived, Damon cautiously approached the door.

Knock… Don't knock… What exactly was the proper protocol here?

He thought it best to knock.

Two raps? Three?

He went with three.

He wasn't nervous but he was definitely finding the whole situation weird. After 2 minutes with no reply he knocked again. He waited another minute before continuing along the perimeter. Just as he looked inside the window, light flowed out from the other one. He walked over to it and looked inside. He could see the light that just turned on but there was no one near it. Another one went on upstairs. It was as if they were on a timer, designed to make you think someone was home, even if they weren't. He checked his watch for the time. Five o'clock exactly.

He went back to the door and placed his hand on the doorknob. He turned it and pushed the door inwards. Smirking to himself he wiggled his right leg over the threshold. She should've bought the property to keep unwanted intruders out.

"Hello?" he called, walking steadily down the narrow hallway. The hallway, full of closed doors, led him to the kitchen. It had all the proper furnishings of a home but it didn't appear that anyone was actually living in the place. He went over to the fridge and opened it.

Completely empty.

He frowned and closed it again, spinning around on his heel. He put his hands in his pockets and went to explore the rest of the house or what little had gone unseen.

Sufficiently bored and satisfied that no one lived there he left the house again. Looking back at the house he took a deep breath. It smelled so strongly of her, it didn't make sense.

Damon satisfied himself with the idea that she had sensed him coming and ran in fear. He walked over to the garage and, the windows being too high up for him to see into, decided he might as well just open the door. Sure, it was an electric door not designed to be open without a remote, but that really wasn't an issue. Damon knelt down to the ground and pushed the door up above his head. It gave him more resistance then he expected but nevertheless the door stayed open.

He let out a slow whistle as his eyes darted over the new Porsche Carrera sitting in front of him. He walked slowly around it dragging his hand across the side. When he came full circle he stood in front of it, taking in the whole garage. His glance fell upon the keys. They were just hanging there on the left wall. He could take them, steal the car, drive back to Mystic Falls and pretend that her scent was long gone from Taloyoak by the time he got there. The idea tempted him but he marched determinedly from the garage when he thought about the miracle it would take to save Stefan if their precarious plan, which, hopefully, was currently falling into place back at home, failed.

In back of the house he found a small trail leading into the forest. Her scent was so strong everywhere it was impossible to tell if she had continued on down this path but he figured it was his best option to finding her. About a mile in the path faded into dense forest but luckily her scent picked up again, weaving throughout the forest.

It was about to get quite dark, especially in the forest and Damon was sick of wandering through the woods when his extra sharp eyes picked up a slight thinning in the trees about a mile ahead.

Uncertain as to what he was walking into, Damon chose to walk up to the clearing. By doing so he could tell for certain that as he got closer her smell got stronger.

He reached the area where the trees thinned and paused to take in fully what he was seeing. Out of the forest, a house sprung up. It was huge and looked as if the mossy ground itself had built it. Four stories grew up out of the ground; the building materials consisting of moss and stone. Huge glass windows overwhelmed the top two floors and a spiral stone staircase led up to a second story veranda. Parts of the house seemed to cut into the mountainside, enveloped by ivy and moss. Stone steps wrapped around to the back of the house and flattened out to a patio with a beautiful outdoor mason fireplace blocked of by a stone wall. Wood melted with glass and it was impossible to tell window from door.

Damon knew beauty and this was it. The house was ablaze with light and despite its size it looked positively cozy.

He walked slowly toward the front of the house. As far as he could tell the front door was the double glass pane with a handle located across from the spiral stairs. He ascended, his black shoes clicking softly against the stone. A small, smooth, circular quartz located next to the door handle looked something like a doorbell so he pressed it.

From inside, Luzbel, so unaccustomed to the sound of the doorbell, passed it off as part of the song she was listening to and continued to lay on her bed staring at the ceiling. When the song had changed and she heard the same high pitched chiming another time she sat up abruptly and went to the window. Pushing aside her white curtains she looked out. It was quite dark but half moon shed enough light for her to see that nothing was amiss.

Damon thought he saw movement in an upstairs room and pressed the doorbell yet again. Through the clear glass he had a perfect view into her house. As far as he could tell, the second floor was one big open space, separated by furniture. Chestnut leather couches, a glass coffee table and another stone fireplace outlined the living room with high ceilings. The inside of the house seemed to have been constructed with just as much care as the outside. Long and straight floating staircases walled off the living room on either side.

She came down the right side staircase, frowning when a figure at the door came into her field of vision.

Damon stood patiently outside as she slowed her descent down the stairs. She reached the doors and they stood there for a second, looking at each other through the glass.

"Elizabeth?" he asked.

She couldn't hear him through the extra thick crystal but she could make out the shape of his lips as he said her name. She opened the door slowly and Damon felt a cold breeze as if a refrigerator door had been opened to him instead.

"Yes…"

He took her hand and slowly bent his head down to kiss it, keeping his eyes on hers. His lips brushed the back of her hand. It was unusually warm despite the cold that had exited the house upon her opening the door. Her face was the perfect Divine Proportion. She was beautiful-no flawless. She wasn't what he was expecting but it made sense. A former archangel could be nothing less than superlative. He let go of her hand.

"Damon Salvatore. I've come to ask for your… help."

Her head was full of questions about this attractive stranger. "How do you know who I am?"

"Mikael. The original. The vampire hunter. You do know him, right?"

"Yes, yes I do. I just wasn't aware he knew how to find me. You're a vampire then?"

"Yeah-"

"You're a vampire working with Mikael and he hasn't killed you… this sounds interesting."

"Well, we both need your help. We need to kill an original."

"I thought they were all dead."

He refrained from rolling his eyes. She really didn't know anything. How was it that she didn't pay attention to the other immortal beings freely roaming the earth with her. "Unfortunately not. And he's a little bit more than an original."

She looked slightly apprehensive and more than a little bit confused.

"It's a long story. Maybe I can come inside." He began to take a step forward when she stepped directly in front of him.

"Please. I don't want to be rude, let me invite you in. Would you like to come inside?" She stepped back and held the door open for him as he entered.

She felt that he did not need to know she had no humanly power to keep him from entering.


	3. Runaway Baby

**CHAPTER THREE**

The sun came up and Elizabeth and Damon both sat on swivel barstools in the kitchen, looking a little worse for wear but acting more like old friends than perfect strangers. After all had been explained, Klaus, the hybrids, they got to talking about themselves, their pasts. Damon had left out some of the finer details like being in love with Elena but he doubted that Elizabeth hadn't picked up on something more there. He learned a little bit more about her but she preferred to keep the conversation focused on him. He didn't know why, it wasn't that she was easy to talk to but something about her compelled him to keep talking. He considered asking her if she could compel people like vampires could but he decided to save that question for later. He felt that she was like him in some existential way.

"I'm exhausted," she said, twirling her empty beer bottle on the counter and kicking her legs against the chair so that she swiveled back and forth.

"Yeah, me too." He ran both his hands through his jet black hair and placed his elbows on the counter, closing his eyes. "But everyone is counting on us to get back soon, whether the first plan worked or not."

"Well, I'm going to need to sleep and then shower before I go anywhere," she said in a not entirely unfriendly way.

He considered arguing with her but there was something about her that he didn't trust. He knew so little about her. And where were all these excellent powers that she supposedly had?

He pursed his lips before agreeing. The smirking suggested, "do I get to sleep with you?" He leaned in towards her.

Their faces so close, her eyes darted back and forth between his. She couldn't deny she felt a desire for him and she had been on earth too long to believe in denying herself something she wanted but something about the whole situation made her uneasy… and she would never admit to it just yet but maybe she was looking for something more meaningful with him than just sleeping together. It was early, but staying up all night with him, getting to know him showed her something in him that she liked.

She jumped down from the chair. "Not today, mysterious stranger that requires my assistance. Messes a bit with the whole 'damsel-in-distress' idea doesn't it," she smirked.

He ignored her concluding comment, asking people for help was a pet peeve of his, he had tried to make it sound like he was asking for help on behalf of Elena which, technically, he was. "Fine, tomorrow," he whispered into her ear from behind her.

She made a noise like she was disgusted and turned around to push him into the living room. "I barely know you," she said, keeping up the air of being repulsed by the very idea of sleeping with a stranger. Not like she hadn't before. She had plenty of time since being cast down from heaven during which to do things she shouldn't.

He felt like retorting that it didn't quite feel that way but he kept his mouth shut and let her hand on the small of his back gently push him up the stairs.

Once settled in one of the many spare rooms he collapsed right on to the giant bed. He couldn't deny that he was beyond tired and he had just fallen on to what may have been the most comfortable bed in the world.

Elizabeth slept five hours before she could no longer use her heavy down comforter to block out the sun and surrendered herself to the daylight. She wasn't sure if Damon had woken up yet but she figured if he was, he could handle himself, and if he wasn't then she should let him sleep. Staying up all night talking had taken the energy out of him and given the story that Damon told, Elizabeth thought sleep would be good for him. She turned to her back, stretched and stared at the ceiling for a bit, thinking about it all.

Eventually she rolled out of bed and got in the shower.

Damon was awake only minutes after Elizabeth and giving how long she took lazing around in bed, he was even in the shower before her. He spent his shower thinking about nothing. His brain had been occupied for too long worrying about Stefan and Elena. He was sick of it. He missed the days when he worried about nothing and cared for no one-or at least could pretend to. Stefan had never gotten himself into this much trouble before.

He toweled off and put on his clothes from yesterday.

"Liz?" he called out, wondering if she was awake yet. He considered going to look for her but also considered what the chances were that he would get lost. Before he had too much time to thin about whether he should sit and wait or go meandering about the house in search of her, a door across the landing from him opened and her head popped out from behind it.

"Yes?" she asked, revealing a perfect smile and silvery white teeth. Her hair was still wet, sticking in beautiful waves around her face which was still flushed from the heat of the shower.

He refrained from grinning back at her. "Almost ready to go?"

"Yeah, I just need to find my shoes," she said leaving the door open behind her and disappearing back into what Damon assumed must be her room.

He considered following her in but decided to wait for her by the door instead. He found her odd. She was supposed to be… well he wasn't sure what she was supposed to be. But he didn't think it was beautiful and bubbly. Although… there was a certain air of danger about her too. In the way she smiled; a smile that was dazzling but also a little menacing. In the way her eyes, such a bright green, didn't sparkle in the sunlight; in fact it was as if the sun didn't hit them at all. And Damon could not ignore the bitter, warning scent that lurked under her sweet, natural perfume. He also couldn't explain why bloodlust for her, that so often accompanied a physical desire, had yet to start to burn in Damon's body. He saw it in the flush of her cheeks, she had blood in her, just not blood that he seemed to want. It made him uneasy and like he so often did with uncomfortable things that he couldn't explain, he dismissed it.

It wasn't that he was afraid of her, really she wasn't very fearsome, she just made him ill at ease.

She met him down at the door about five minutes later, and after much running around upstairs.

Damon looked down at her feet, which were clad in tall black boots. "So you found yours shoes."

"Yeah. I'm really very organized, I just forget where I put things a lot of the time. So much in my brain, shoe placement gets pushed aside sometimes."

He looked her up and down and she frowned at him.

"No bags?" He asked.

"Well. No. I'm not sure how long we'll be and I can always buy stuff there... can't I?" she added, interpreting his skeptical expression.

"Yeah.. yeah." He held the unusually heavy door open for her and they walked out into the forest.

After about two minutes of walking Damon looked at her. "Can't you go any faster than that?"

She gave him a dirty look. "Well I could run but what would be the point of that? Besides, forest floor is not exactly the best terrain to be running along."

Damon seriously considered just telling her to stay home. Was this a sick joke on Mikaels part? Sending him off to East Timbuktu in search of some loner girl so he had Damon out of the way?

The very idea made him sick. "Well it's too slow for my liking." He picked her up swiftly and swung her over his shoulder, heading super speed back to the parking lot.

"Wait!" she said as they approached the small white house. "Here, put me down."

He stopped abruptly in the driveway and deposited her on the ground.

"Awesome," she said, getting up quickly and wiping her hands on her black jeans. "Let's take my car." A small smile played across her lips.

"Is it even street legal?" he asked, ignoring for a moment the large flaw in her idea.

"Barely." She walked through the garage door that Damon had left open and took the keys off the wall.

"And what about my car?" said Damon.

She paused a second as if weighing something important in her brain. "Uh don't worry. I'll get it back there same time as us, promise."

He looked at her, unsure but it was about time she showed him something impressive. "Can I drive?" he said, within inches of her in seconds.

"Ha. Not a chance." She waved the keys in front of his face and then pushed her way past him into the drivers seat.

The drive home was long, but made easier by her nearly impeccable music taste and inability to keep herself from singing along.

"If you don't shut up I'm going to have to kill you," said Damon, after nearly seven hours of her caterwauling.

"Oooh, terrifying," she said, half-smiling at him from underneath thick lashes. This was at least the 80th time Damon had told her to stop singing, and she tried, she put in a valiant effort but she did it without even thinking.

"Speaking of killing, I'm starving," said Damon.

She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. It was an almost imperceptible movement but Damon picked up on it.

"Slaughtering innocent humans make you uncomfortable?" It pleased him to think that she valued human life more than he did. He preffered to keep people afraid of him rather than pitying him like Elena seemed to have come to.

"Yeah, besides you said we were almost there." She pressed the gas pedal, easing the speedometer to 180.

"How fast does this go?" Damon asked, in the hopes that she would show him rather then tell. No such luck.

"209."

"Show me."

She pressed and the car hurtled forward. Damon wanted to push the issue of eating but something about her reaction gave Damon that disquieted feeling that he was fast becoming used to.

Soon they pulled off the highway and he directed her the last few turns to the Salvatore boarding house. She parked her car in the driveway and they stepped out. Damon looked back at the garage.

"My car?"

"Oh. No it's not back yet. Just a minute. Over there alright?" she pointed to a spot in front of the garage and he nodded.

Before he had time to complete the nod his car was there. He looked over at her, narrowing his eyes. "Well we could've gotten here a lot faster."

"We got here as fast as we could," she replied, with a feeling of finality. That was all she was saying on the matter.

Elizabeth was glad it was dark outside.


	4. You Are Not a Robot

**CHAPTER FOUR**

The loud rumble of the engine had called their arrival to the attention of the people inside, however, only one of them got up to greet them at the door.

As Damon extended a hand to turn the handle, Alaric pulled the door open from the inside.

"Rick. How pleasant to see you," said Damon, keeping his expression hard in order to mask his worry.

Rick decided to skip the formalities. "It didn't work Damon. We had him. Mikael had him and then…" Alaric made eye contact with Damon for the first time. "Stefan tackled him and Klaus took the stake and he used it to kill Mikael." There. It was out.

Frozen between disbelief and shock and despair, Damon refused to acknowledge what he had just heard, but when Elena stepped into the hallway behind Alaric, her face streaked with tears, Damon's expression cracked. His eyebrows came together and upwards in pain; he moved quickly towards Elena, wrapping her in his arms. He took her face between his hands. It was his turn to tell her not to give up.

"Look at me," he said, tilting her face toward his. "This isn't the end and we won't stop fighting. I don't know what Stefan did or why but we both know that this isn't him. Whatever he's done, whatever he's become, it's not him." He stared back and forth into her eyes. "I brought her back. She's here and she's going to help us."

Elizabeth, who had been quietly introducing herself to Alaric, stepped forward.

"Whatever you need," she said, but she failed to meet Elena's eyes. Her voice seemed a little huskier and it could've been Damon's imagination but her skin looked more golden than the soft silver hue it had seemed to have this morning. Were her eyes darker too? Damon did not choose this moment to question it.

"Sleep Elena. It's late and there's nothing we can do right now," said Damon, gently pushing her in the direction of the spare room.

She pushed back. "No. No I won't just sleep while some monster is controlling my boyfriend!" Her voice was thick with tears and, as adamant as her protesting was, it lacked the energy of a well-rested and clear thinking female.

Alaric turned to Elizabeth, tired as well. "Let me make you some coffee?"

"Oh. Uh yes. Please."

An hour and a half later Damon met Elizabeth and Alaric in the kitchen, looking just as exhausted as the latter.

"Well, that was fun. Really Alaric, there was no comforting you could have done pre my arrival?" questioned Damon, harshly.

"I've been with her all day. It's gotten better, although I don't expect someone without feelings to understand," retorted Alaric.

"Whatever," he said, pushing around Elizabeths empty mug on the granite island. What was he doing. Wasn't Stefan finally what Damon had been trying to turn him into all these years? Didn't he want Stefan to be the cold, bloodsucking and soulless monster that he himself felt like all the time? He walked out of the kitchen not saying another word.

"Well then. How about I set you up in an extra bedroom?" Alaric suggested to Elizabeth. He, like Damon, was uncomfortable in her presence but if he had to be the one to hold things together at the moment then so be it. Jenna was gone and he would make sure that he took care of Elena. He took Elizabeth to the second floor and she sat down on the bed that she would be sleeping in for the next two months.

It took two weeks alone for Damon, Alaric, Elena and Jeremy to even begin trusting this force of nature that had come to reside with them. Most of the hours in the days were occupied by plan plotting but they wasted a majority of their early days with plans that did not use Elizabeth to her full potential. Three weeks into it Elizabeth finally said, "I know you guys don't know me but I will kill Klaus. He's faster than me, but I'm stronger. I just need five seconds, and the element of surprise and then he's gone from your lives forever. Get him alone and get me next to him without him noticing. Even that should be easy! As far as we know, he doesn't even know I'm here. Right? Right okay good. So can we focus more on plans that get Klaus alone and less on plans that involve all of you dying?"

Everyone was a little stunned after that speech. Up until then, Elizabeth had remained fairly quiet, very rarely talking to anyone but Damon.

"Right, of course," said Jeremy, and after that a rough plan started to form. They would take the dagger out of Rebekah and use her to lure him out some place alone… still a very rough plan.

In the late afternoon of one unexpected day the door swung open. Jeremy and Alaric were arguing over whether to force magical compliance from Rebekah or to trust her to aid them whilst Damon and Elizabeth were poring over a map, trying to pick the perfect place for this all to go down. They all heard the front door swing open loudly; Elena poked her head into the living room. "What was that? I thought you all were in here."

"We are," Alaric replied ominously.

From the door they heard "Honey, I'm hoooome," in a sing-song voice.

Elena's face dropped. "Stefan." She looked, panicked, at Elizabeth and Damon. Her eyes scanned over the messy living room, every inch of it covered in plans to kill Klaus. Elizabeth waved her hand over the table and everything disappeared. Before anyone had time to be any more surprised, Stefan appeared in the doorframe.

"I thought you wanted to _save_ me not kill me. What a different approach you took," he said, his tone mocking.

"What are you talking about Stefan?" Elena said, glaring at him. Damon had stood up and oriented himself in an easy position to protect her.

He frowned in mock confusion. "Oh don't you know? If you kill Klaus, I die too. And here I was, thinking you knew. Why else would I stop your little plan? Sure I want Klaus gone as much as the rest of you," his voice dropped and he smirked, "frankly, he's weighing me down. But. Unfortunately if he goes, I go and I can't have that now can I."

There was a pregnant pause while everyone in the room stared at each other.

"Well, I'm glad we had this chat," Stefan said, turning to go. "Oh and, Elizabeth, this came for you." He flicked her a letter the size of a notecard.

Stefan was gone and everyone's attention was back to her.

"Elizabeth-" Damon began.

"Shh stop," she looked down at the card, expressionless. She handed it over to Damon to read.

_Luzbel,  
><em>_Your presence is kindly requested at the graveyard two weeks from tonight and please bring the older Mr. Salvatore.  
><em>_-Klaus_

Damon handed it to Jeremy, Alaric and Elena who clustered together to read it. Damon stepped closer to her. Her skin and eyes once again had shifted color, subtly but noticeably. Her eyes darker, her skin more golden. He lowered his voice, "Why do you look different? And don't tell me you don't. It happened the night we arrived here too." His look was hard.

She looked at him, her own eyes, although darker, had come to be more trusting when looking into his own. They had spent so much time together, learned a lot about each other. She took his hand. "Here, come with me," she said leading him into the adjacent study and shutting the door.

"When I was...you know... cast out of heaven," she began, not meeting his eye, "most of my powers were stripped away from me. The devil, and I mean literally the devil, he tricked me. Hours after I had been earthbound, he came to me, disguised as my brothers human form. He told me that he could give me back all my old power and even more. Of course I said yes! I was angry with God and ashamed that he disowned me. I should have known that Michael would never have helped me. He was too ashamed of me too. Anyways, like I was saying, it was a trick. All my new power came with strings attached. He revealed himself to me as Satan and I knew I made a mistake. If I had known what was going on, I never would've even considered it. It's like my own personal hell on earth. Every time I use it, a piece of my soul goes black, evil. When angels take on their human form, their skin has a silver sheen to it, almost unnoticeable really, but there. When demons take on a human form their skin is the same, but gold. I fight it all the time. I fight for control of my soul and it's hard. When you told me about Stefan, and how he is with animal blood, it reminded me of myself. There are periods when I don't fight it. When I give in because my old feelings of resentment and anger are always there. Not to mention Satan doesn't leave me alone. If I don't use my powers for long enough, my soul eventually returns to it's normal state, whatever that may be. I don't want to rule any underworld with Satan, I want... well, not this."

"Surely my car was not worth losing a piece of your soul to."

"Using my power on inanimate objects barely effects me. It's living things that really change me. The dark part of my soul, it isn't lost. It's in me right now." She seemed to shudder just saying it.

"What will killing Klaus do to you?"

"Oh that? That I can do with my bare hands," she smirked a little.

"There are dark parts of my soul too."

Elizabeth looked up at Damon and held his gaze for the first time since their conversation had begun.

He kissed her. When he felt her press back gently against his lips he took her face in-between his hands. Now he understood why he always felt that they were the same in some way. He acted on the feelings he felt for her that had gone mostly unnoticed underneath all the distractions of their new plan. He would not pretend that he felt the same way for her, that he felt for Elena but he was not entirely sure one feeling was stronger than the other. His love for Elena, always unrequited tortured him in the most powerful way, but his feelings for Elizabeth also had a power over him.

There was a knock on the door. Damon kissed her forehead and then turned to open the door. The three of them were waiting, crammed in view of the doorframe on the other side.

Damon pursed his lips. "What."

Elena waved the letter in his face. "This."

Elizabeth stepped in front of Damon and took the letter. "So he knows I'm here. We revise the plan," she said, setting her jaw in a confident manner. Originals didn't scare her.

Elena stared at her, shocked. "No. There is no plan anymore. Didn't you hear? If we kill Klaus we kill Stefan too."

"Then we wait until the meeting."


	5. Big Bad Wolf

**CHAPTER FIVE**

With Alaric, Jeremy and Elena all at school, Damon and Elizabeth had many hours alone in the Salvatore house during the two weeks prior to the Klaus' meeting. She had tried to convince him to go on a road trip with her (it had been quite some time since she had explored the U.S.) but he was dead set on staying in Mystic Falls to make sure Elena was safe. They passed the time in various ways, going out, staying in, cooking, playing board games but by the time that their meeting was less than 24 hours away, they were feeling a little restless.

"Lets go out," Elizabeth said. "I'm bored and who knows, you could die tomorrow." She joked with him, her eyes mischievous.

"Well Caroline Forbes is having a party. How do you feel about going back to high school?"

"I feel great. I'll go get ready now."

She bounded up the stairs and Damon heard the shower go on. He contemplated joining her but refrained. Not that he was one to put labels on relationships but at least with Rose they had both made their intentions clear. He couldn't deny that being with the most powerful being on earth had it's appeals but he loved Elena… who had said that it would always be Stefan. _Hell, maybe I will join her, _he thought.

An hour later and they were ready to go. She came out of her room and met him in a black, tight fitting and very expensive looking party dress. She must've gotten it during one of the many times that she disappeared from the house without explanation.

"You'll drive?" she said, handing him the keys and making no reference to her stunning change of attire.

They arrived at the party late enough that their arrival went fairly unnoticed. The party was in full swing and the venue, a bank, long since used, was fairly packed. Caroline had done an excellent job turning it into the best party space in Mystic Falls. The old counters served as the bar and the expansive vaults in the back had been transformed into smaller, more private rooms.

Elizabeth breezed past Damon towards the bar and Damon felt the cold chill that he so often felt when she passed closely by him or when he was introduced to her presence. It always contradicted how unusually warm she felt to the touch. He frowned after her and then went in search of Elena.

Elizabeth bought a drink from the bartender and then began to survey her surroundings. Although it was not something she was particularly adept at, she loved to dance. She picked out her desired dance partner (he had to be hot and not too young looking) and introduced herself to him. Once she was satisfied he met her standards (the one's she had created after a particularly shameful night in Barcelona) she intertwined their bodies and began to dance.

"So. Tomorrow's the meeting then," Elena said to Damon as they sat on a couch in one of the old vaults. "What could he possibly want with the both of you? It honestly can't be anything good."

"Best not to stand up an original," Damon replied, throwing the rest of his vodka to the back of his throat and standing up. "Refill," he said, raising his eyebrows and lifting his glass to indicate his intentions to Elena.

He leaned on the bar and slid his glass across the counter to the bartender, scanning the busy lobby-turned-dance-floor for Elizabeth. Under blue and purple club lights he spotted her, surrounded by rowdy teenagers and wrapped in the arms of some small-time high school boy. Their foreheads touched, eyes closed, noses side by side and Damon couldn't look away. The boy turned his head to the left and leaned down slightly, lips parted. When her mouth met his Damon could see them kissing in every painful detail. He took the two shots from the couple next to him and Caroline was the unlucky one to be the first female to walk past him. He grabbed her and his voice whispered hot and roughly in her ear, "dance with me."

She pushed him away, looking him up and down. "Oh ew. No. You're drunk and oh wait… No." She gave him one final look of disgust and pushed through the crowd to Tyler.

Damon shrugged, grabbed the entire bourbon bottle from the bar and compelled the pretty brunette next to him to dance. As soon as he knew Elizabeth was watching, he kissed the girl whose name he didn't even bother to get to know. He wasn't sure what he was doing or why but it felt good to him. For Damon, the night turned into a blur or bourbon and the nameless brunette; he wasn't even sure what time Luzbel left, or with who but he did know that the cold walk home was not entirely sobering. He stumbled through the door and was about to retreat to his room when he saw that her door was closed. He walked over to it and opened it loudly, turning on the light. An arm, a collarbone, a neck and face were visible, the only parts of her not covered by the sheets. Her not quite curly but a little more than wavy hair was laying wildly across the pillows and she hadn't bothered to take off her dark eye makeup. Within seconds he was sitting next to her on the side of her bed. He wrapped a hand around her throat. Sleepily, she swallowed, aware of the restriction and opened her eyes.

"What the hell?" Awake suddenly, she grabbed his wrist and twisted. When he fought back she threw him against the wall.

"You weren't kidding, you are strong." His words were slightly slurred and his head stayed down after colliding with the sheetrock. His jet black hair covered most of his face, his body slumped.

She walked over to him. Lifting her chin up with her forefinger and looking him in the eyes, she knelt on one knee next to him. "Damon…"

Before she really knew what happened he was up, pressing her against the opposite wall. His hand was around her throat again. "What was that shit you pulled tonight." He glared at her, eyes not focusing.

She pushed him back with one hand. "Are you fucking crazy?" He was drunk.. she really shouldn't let him get to her. "You're the one in love with your brother's girlfriend! She. Will. Never. Want. You."

Damon stopped pushing against her hand on his chest and stared at her. "Fair enough." He let go of her and left the room.

She stared after him.

The next day they did not speak to each other. When the time came to go to the graveyard, Damon met her in the car. Neither were desperate to show up to a meeting with an original vampire hybrid alone but it seemed that this might be the last thing they did together.

Elizabeth stopped her car on the main road, the wide but winding avenue to the graveyard was dirt and the Carrera was not built for off roading.

"Some fog for dramatic effect?" said Damon, his tone still bitter, as they entered the graveyard and the mist began to roll over the mossy ground.

"Ah. So you came," Klaus said, emerging from behind a particularly large headstone. Other figures emerged from Damon's artificially created mist. Hybrids, Elizabeth assumed, though she had never seen them herself, only heard about them from Damon.

"Ooh dramatic," Elizabeth said, crossing her arms.

"Now now, let's not get too daring." Klaus stepped closer to her and circled around the both of them.

"Before I die of old age, care to tell me what you want?" Elizabeth asked, when he was standing in front of them again.

He pretended to think about it for a second and then said, "In your case, there's something I'd like to show you but as far as he's concerned," he narrowed his eyes at Damon, "I just thought I'd like the set," he finished, clapping Stefan on the shoulder.

By now Klaus' hybrids had formed a ring around them. _How cliched_, thought Elizabeth.

She stood in silence, waiting for him to reveal whatever it was that he wanted to show her.

"Well you're no fun are you?" Klaus said, pouting in a childish way.

"Why am I here?" Elizabeth said, annoyed.

"Well it really wouldn't be a fair fight if I didn't show you ahead of time. Not to mention I want to see what all my new power will be able to do."

She raised her eyebrows at him. "What are you talking about?"

Stefan, who up until now had been standing with a long but thin wooden box propped against him, lifted it up for Klaus to open. The box looked fairly new, deep Agarwood lined with midnight blue Vicuna wool and top and bottom were held together with gold hinges. The object inside of it however, was older than any artifact ever discovered. Encased in the most expensive materials, the ancient Obsidian sword, reinforced with Osmium gave off an slight iridescent glow.

"But that-" Elizabeth began.

"Oh I know exactly what it is," Klaus said with an eerie smile. "Anyways just thought I should give you a heads up."

He turned to go but the circle did not break. "Oh I almost forgot."

His army of composite vampire-werewolves launched towards the two of them.

"Damon," Elizabeth said, true fear showing in her eyes for the first time since the beginning of time itself. Their eyes locked but the next thing Damon knew he was in his own living room, feeling like he had just gone over a particularly steep hill in an incredibly fast car. There was no way. It was impossible that she would have used her powers to teleport him back here. He didn't know exactly what something like that would do to her, but she made it clear that it wasn't good. He was just about to run out in to the night to find her when he remembered something he had heard a long time ago.

With Damon's sudden disappearance, what was left at the scene was a mass of confused hybrids who had just charged full force into each other. Elizabeth stepped over them, headed back to her car, got in and drove.


	6. Silent Alarm

**CHAPTER SIX**

Damon waited up and watched as the old grandfather clock chimed past two am. Elizabeth had been gone for four hours and Damon was beginning to get an upsetting feeling in the pit of his stomach, as if he had just been abandoned. The book he had spent hours searching for sat open in his lap and he read the same line over and over again.

"Whatever is done for love always occurs beyond good and evil." -Friedrich Nietzsche

He was just about to pace the room for the four hundredth time when the tell tale rumble of an engine sounded in the driveway. He raced to the door and she was there, standing underneath the patio light, her face, startlingly white, was streaked with tears.

"Oh my god." He pulled her to him. "Shhh," he whispered, smoothing her hair as her chest heaved with silent cries. When she pulled away her face was dry, hours of crying had left her eyes barren of tears. His own eyes took in her whole appearance. Aside from looking slightly disheveled, she looked just as she had when they left the house. He breathed an inward sigh of relief, glad that her soul remained relatively untarnished and decided that that particular mystery could wait until later. She walked like a zombie into her room and sat on the edge of her bed. Damon was unsure what to do so he remained in the doorway.

"Tell me," he said, his voice soft.

"Tell you what?"

He refrained from scoffing and instead said, "Tell me what happened tonight. That sword, what is it?"

She looked as if she was about to say and then her face broke into a pained expression and she buried her face in her hands, her hair tangled amongst her fingers. Damon moved over to the bed and sat down next to her. He was about to ask her again when she looked up at him.

"It's the only way to kill me," she said, after a very long deep breath.

As much as Damon wanted to express an equal amount of concern over this, he hadn't yet adjusted to the fact that nothing could kill her, so the arrival of this very important looking sword was not as earth shattering. Elizabeth had resituated herself on the bed and was now laying down, her head on the headboard, eyes closed.

"But it doesn't even make any sense," she said, her eyes flying open again. "It must've taken him hundreds of years to get that, I'm not even sure how he did. He has no reason to want me dead. Zero. None."

Damon raised an eyebrow at her. "Are you kidding me? He's going for global domination-an army of hybrids. You could stop him just by snapping your fingers. You're underestimating just how long he's been planning the break of that curse."

"But why not go after Satan? Or Belial? Or Leviathan? Or Michael for that matter. Really, anyone although the princes are really the only ones with the motivation to stop him."

"You're losing me."

"The other crowned rulers of hell; Satan, Leviathan and Belial. Michael's just my brother-you know the story. The archangel… Michael? Anyways. Upstairs leaves it in the hands of downstairs to make sure that nothing bigger and badder than us will start traipsing around earth. Satan's really the one with all the power though, and drive to stop him." She was mostly rambling, half speaking to herself. Elizabeth was already seeing what she had to do. She figured it best not to tell Damon more than he needed to know. The decision was already beginning to hurt.

"Maybe he doesn't know how to kill the devil, but he knows how to kill you. Or maybe it's just Klaus' way of getting their attention," Damon said.

Her head slid to left and she stared down at the bed. "Maybe. I don't think _I_ even know how to kill Satan."

Damon walked over to the other side of the bed and lay down next to her. He stared at the ceiling.

"I'm not ready to die." She was on her side, staring at him. Damon looked down at her. They lay in silence, the only sound was that of quiet breathing. Elizabeth relished these moments, knowing that they would be her last, like this, with him.

Elizabeth wasn't sure how much time had passed but she felt that she could not lay there any more pretending that she did not know what she was going to do. She stood up and straightened out her clothes.

"Where are you going?" Damon asked, his eyes narrowing.

She swallowed and strengthened her resolve. "Well, I have to kill him."

"Who. Klaus?"

She nodded, curtly.

He looked at her as if unable to tell if she was telling a joke or not. "You can't kill him. If you do, Stefan dies." He put out one hand and then the other, as if demonstrating an if-then relationship. "Stefan is the whole reason you came here in the first place. To help him."

She looked anywhere but him. "I came here because I was bored, okay? And because I thought if I did something selfless… it could help me get back in to heaven." She paused, carefully considering her next sentence. "I didn't do this for you. This, Klaus... he can kill me. It changes everything."

"So what? Anyone with a piece of wood can kill me and yet I don't go around hunting down everyone that holds a pencil!"

She looked down. "It's different."

Damon considered asking how but didn't envision that being anything other than a waste of time.

There was a silence while both of them considered what this meant.

"Whatever is done for love always occurs beyond good and evil," Damon said, eventually.

Her eyes snapped up at him. "Friedrich Nietzsche," she said, quietly.

"Is that how I ended up safely in my living room tonight and you stayed," he set his jaw and looked her up and down, "as you are?"

"I'd never tested the theory before. But yeah I guess it works." If Damon hadn't known that her eyes didn't sparkle, he would've thought it was just the light, and not her eyes swimming with tears when she said, "I'm sorry. It seems we're on opposite sides of the same battle."

And with that, she left the Salvatore house forever but another figure appeared to replace her.

"Katherine," his surprise was well concealed.

"Damon," she smirked, sauntering over to him.

"I thought you'd left Mystic Falls. Gone after everything with Klaus."

"What? Just as everything was getting interesting?"

He smiled his heartbreakingly beautiful smile that was wrought with sadness and his bright blue eyes took her in. Without another word he drew her too him and they crashed down onto the bed that only moments before he had shared with someone else entirely.


	7. The Girl

_AUTHORS NOTE-_

**CHAPTER SEVEN**

The events that followed after Elizabeth's departure, Damon would not learn of until a number of years later. The next time he saw Luzbel was when she went head to head against Klaus.

Earlier that fateful day, Damon was paid a visit by a certain archangel. He had been getting drunk in the Salvatore boarding house when the figure, clad in white appeared in front of him.

"And you are?" said a decidedly drunk Damon, stepping around the angel to exchange his glass for a bottle.

"I'm Michael. I'm from…" He gestured up to the ceiling but got no sign on recognition from the vampire. "You know… up there." Still nothing. "Heaven. I'm from heaven."

"Oh, cool," said Damon in a tone clearly meant to mimic someone who thought that was actually cool.

"It's not everyday that someone prays for my sister. In fact it's not any day really," the angel said, after the long, slightly awkward, pause, his voice more like music than anything.

"I think she mentioned you. Sorry though, you must have the wrong Damon Salvatore. I don't pray for anyone," he said, his words slurring together a little.

"Dangerous, drunk and disorderly?" Michael said with a small smile. "No I've got the right one."

"Well it's also not everyday that an angel shows up in my living room."

"Like I said, people don't often pray for my wayward sister."

"Like I said, I wasn't praying." Damon glared at Michael.

Michael stood there, questioning why he had come in the first place. There had to be better options. He guessed he had just wanted to see the vampire that prayed for Lucifer. Or maybe it was some desperate attempt to save his sister, although his supernatural powers had already showed him that that wouldn't be possible. Looking into the future was one of Michael's favorite powers but it had never hurt him more than in this moment. He knew his options and didn't like either of them.

"Well I didn't come to answer your prayers." He paused just to make sure that what he said next would set in motion the proper course of events. "But Klaus is going to try to kill her tonight. She could use your help." It pained him to lie.

"I don't want to help her," Damon said, slightly childishly.

"Then at least go to say goodbye." Michael's voice was gentle but he was getting frustrated. How was he supposed to get Damon to go to her? He didn't understand vampires. Or why God let them roam around for that matter. God didn't even create them! God created witches who then went a created vampires who were really just an earthly anomaly. The whole thing was dumb.

"I did." Damon's voice was hard, less childish.

"You'll never see her again."

"Can't wait" said Damon, wiggling his eyebrows in mock excitement and taking another drink.

But Michael could see that he could. It was still uncertain but he could see it beginning to take shape. Damon thinking about going… Damon walking to the clearing… Damon seeing it all and not being able to turn away...

"It was nice to meet you, Damon," Michael said, extending his hand.

The seemingly abrupt end to their conversation left Damon slightly confused. As he reached out his own hand, reluctantly accepting the handshake, Michael said, "But just in case, she's here." Their hands grasped each other and the touch allowed Michael to show exactly where she was and how to get there. "Cedar Island Bay on the Eastern Shore. Oh and-" he waved his hand. All the alcohol in the room disappeared and Michael with it. Damon was left alone.

Elizabeth knew Klaus was coming but she didn't know when. She had to be ready at any time; it was kill or be killed and she was just coming to terms with the fact the she could die, let alone that said death was imminent. She'd been experiencing the same internal struggle for the past two weeks. Surrender everything, give up her soul and kill Klaus... or die knowing that she wouldn't cause anymore damage. And what if she could kill Klaus without having to use the power given to her by the devil? She prepared herself as well as she could-weapons, traps, everything she could possibly think of. Would it be enough? If she didn't use her power, and still died… would that be enough to get her back in God's good graces and back in to heaven? She wanted to scream thinking about it all but eventually there was no more time to think.

When Klaus came, she knew. He came out of the woods alone but was soon flanked by four of the earth's most powerful witches. Beautiful and deadly, Klaus had done his homework; Elizabeth wouldn't be able to fight them, magically at least, without giving up her whole soul.

The trees around the small area where they stood erupted into flames, encircling them and as if that wasn't enough to keep her in, Klaus's army of hybrids stood at the edge of the fiery ring. She wasn't anticipating this. She was anticipating what she had seen at the graveyard, Klaus and his hybrids and Stefan; these witches were not a part of her plan and she realized the second she saw them that there would be no escaping. She was mentally resigning herself already, wondering if she could die and still keep her dignity.

She saw a figure speed through the fire on their right side and she didn't think it could, but her heart dropped even more. In a second Damon was standing at her side.

"Well, well, well. What is this? Damon chose a girl over his precious little brother." Klaus sneered, advancing towards them.

Elizabeth glances at Damon, her eyes panicked and with a look as if to say 'Is that true?'

"It's isn't," Damon hissed. "I didn't know… well let's just say my timing wasn't the best."

And then Elizabeth realized that Damon being there was the bet thing that could ever happen to her.

"Here, quick." She jumped on his back and hurriedly whispered instructions to him. She could use Damon's speed and her combined strength to take out Klaus and she could use her love for Damon to protect him. Her breath hot in his ear, feverishly describing her plan, they sped towards Klaus. The witches tried to slow Damon down but Elizabeth shielded him from their power.

Klaus, not quite sure how, but realizing that his witches magic wasn't working, quickly went in to battle mode. He shouted orders at his hybrids. They came after Elizabeth and Damon but since they were suddenly one being, Elizabeth on Damon's back, she could protect him and herself at the same time.

She knocked the hybrids against each other, threw fire at some and even sent a few hurtling after Klaus instead.

She was caught up thinking about how to take down the witches when a rogue hybrid ran full force into Damon, knocking her off of him and sending her tumbling forward a hundred feet.

"Damon!" she screamed, scrambling up trying to get back to him.

But while she was busy protecting Damon she forgot about herself, she forgot about the witches and she forgot about Klaus. She felt his arm wrap around her neck.

"Got ya," he whispered, triumphantly.

Then everything went black.

Her eyes flew open and her arms pulled at magical restraints. She wasn't sure where she was but it was dark, kinda wet and not to mention, something smelled weird. She made a face and took in her surroundings. Four witches standing on either side of her, check. Evil original werewolf-vamp, check. Both Salvatore brothers, check.

Elizabeth felt sick. "Why is he here?" She directed her question to Klaus and nodded at Damon, crumpled and breathing slowly in the corner.

"I thought it'd be fun. Forcing Salvatores to do things they don't want to do has become one of my favorite pastimes and he seemed so eager to join in." Klaus was practically beaming.

Elizabeth pulled at the invisible yet still uncomfortable ropes that held her wrists in the air. Her arms were twisted painfully so she pulled herself up and flipped over in order to have all her limbs at the proper angles. To everyone else it just looked like she somersaulted in midair.

"Impressive, but I'm bored and I want Damon to see what I've got in store for him." Klaus kicked Damon to rouse him. He walked around behind Elizabeth and gently, almost sensuously, brushed her long hair off her back and over her shoulder. Then he took a knife and cut the back of her shirt open.

Elizabeth's face hardened as she fought tears. She looked determinedly at the ground in front of her. "What are you doing?"

"You'll see," he almost sang.

She felt the cold tip of the knife between her shoulder blades as he began to carve into her back. She knew what it was without having to look or needing him to finish. Her chest heaved, her teeth scraped against each other, her tears caused the room to swim before her eyes but she would not make a sounds as the ultimate symbol of shame was sliced into her by Klaus's knife.

It seemed like hours but it was only minutes later that Klaus said "There, done."

He stood in front of her again. "It looks great."

She tried to swallow but her throat was closed.

"One last touch," Klaus said, pulling a necklace from his pocket. He held it up for her to see but she could no longer look at him and hung her head in despair.

"You're so obliging," he said, placing the ancient uncut diamond, on it's long chain, over her head. As the necklace settled on her she cried out in pain, her head tilting upwards. Two dark and magnificent wings pushed and grew out of her back. When they too had settled, her head fell down again.

"You can't," she whispered, exhausted, still refusing to look at anyone else in the room.

"Oh but I can. And I will. And I will take immense pleasure in it."

Her wings, a deep black with white tips, curled gently and slowly around her body.

Klaus walked slowly behind her again and raised the knife to where it had been before.

The dimly lit cavern was silent except for Lucifer's sobs. "Don't," she pleaded, over and over again.

"I never took you for a beggar," he said, and then he lay the blade flat, swiftly and strongly slashing it to the left.

Her face and the cry that ensued was one of the saddest and most pained Damon would every witness. Half song, half the sound of a soul dying, it was enough to make Damon feel like he was dying himself.

Klaus did the same to the right and both her wings fell, bent and dirty on the filthy rock floor.

She clung to her invisible bindings, truly defeated.

"I mean it's poetic, really, so who better to kill you than your one true love." He emphasized the last three words, mocking the both of them.

"I'll kill myself before I do anything for you." The vervain they had forced Damon to ingest was starting to wear and he was considerably less weak. He sat up straighter in the corner where he had been slumped.

"You will do no such thing." Klaus's voice rang with the power of compulsion.

Elizabeth knew that against Klaus's mind-control, Damon would have no choice. She looked at him.

"Damon I love you."

"Oh lets make this interesting," Klaus interjected. His eyes locked with Damon's. "How about you choose. Her, or Stefan. Stefan was pretty good at resisting my compulsion when it came to Elena, but really, Damon, violence is in your nature."

And it was true. Damon's eyes were already beginning to go dark, the veins in his face protruding.

"And I can't forget!" Klaus said, anticipation ringing in his voice.

One of the witches waved her hand and the sword appeared in Damon's tight fist.

"There you go." Klaus leaned against the wall to watch, but it was taking too long. Damon looked between her and Stefan, who remained standing calmly beside him.

"CHOOSE. NOW."

And as Klaus was commanding Damon to choose, Elizabeth locked eyes with him.

"I don't blame you. I love you." She repeated over and over again, so fast that it was barely possible to make out what she was saying.

Idon'tblameyouIloveyouIdon'tblameyouIloveyou.

And then she felt the sword go through her.

Klaus smiled, clapping Damon on the shoulder. Free of the compulsion Damon could see what he had done. He couldn't speak, his head was spinning.

"Now let's test out these new powers I should have."

He waved his hand at one of the witches standing in the corner, she collapsed in pain. He repeated the action, more forcefully on the remaining three witches. All three collapsed in the same way yet Klaus let out a roar of anger. "Why doesn't it work?" he shouted. "That was supposed to kill you."

He threw fire at Stefan, killed one of the witches with a mysterious white light and brought the rock walls crumbling inwards but it wasn't what he wanted. Something had gone wrong.

"YOU LIED TO ME," he screamed at the witches even though they were already dead, caught in Klaus's rampage.

"No I'm afraid you wanted to kill me. Looks like you made a mistake," said a tall figure, stepping out of the rock rubble. Sharp pearly teeth glinted in to a smile as he snapped Klaus's neck and his body began it's slow decay.


End file.
